March 22, 2016 | Is it Government or Oligarchs?

Martin Armstrong

Martin Arthur Armstrong is the former chairman of Princeton Economics International Ltd. He is best known for his economic predictions based on the Economic Confidence Model, which he developed.

QUESTION: Martin, I am a capitalist and what we have today is the least efficient form of capitalism. Actually it is quite a destructive and dangerous form of capitalism when the concentration of power reaches this level. I think that in all these years that I thought we were talking about different things, maybe we were not. You call big government what I call plutocrats controlling government. You were blaming governments, I was blaming plutocrats that we let become soo big and powerful that can buy any government… Yet maybe we are not that far off.

… In any case… one question that I would love to ask you… how do you think we are going to fix the problem with the power structure? What I call the power structure is not the legitimate power structure, but the mix of oligarchs and corrupt government working as one cancerogenous entity. I do not see any reasonable way to fix it…?

Best regards

DD

ANSWER: I think what you have to understand is that our structure of government being a republic rather than a democracy invites oligarchy. There has never been a single republic that has ever proven to work. The admixture of money and power always becomes lethal. This is why I blame government, not the oligarchs. They could not buy politicians if they were not (1) career lifetime politicians, and (2) all-powerful law creators. Taxes and regulations become the incentive for the oligarchs to buy government. If we eliminate taxes and career politicians, we will solve most of the problem. We then must eliminate socialism,which at its core is predicated upon the foundation of Marxism that advocates government possessing power by insisting it could alter society by regulation. This serves as a fundamental pillar for taxation. It has also transformed government into the adversary of the people stemming from PUNISHMENT rather than from the concept of cooperation and respect for the people.

Philadelphia is trying to introduce a 3 cent tax per ounce of soda. The excuse is that sugar is bad for you, and they have only the best interests in mind for society. They expect to get almost $100 million annually from this tax. Why outlaw something that will make them money? So if it’s bad for you, go ahead, but pay them for that privilege. Philadelphia is dead broke and has a 22.5% tax on parking and 8.5% tax on hotels. They have chased everyone out. They want income tax for money earned in the city even if you just hold a conference there. This latest soda tax means a 2-liter bottle of soda that typically costs $1.50 would amount to $2.04 with taxes, which is more than the cost of the actual bottle. The cost of a 12-pack of soda would nearly double to more than $8. This is the same thing with all this global warming. Governments use this as the excuse to tax you for your own good. The money does nothing but line the pockets of politicians. In the case of Philadelphia, citizens will shop in the suburbs to avoid the tax. To appease the oligarchs, the Feds created carbon credits that can then be sold to others who do pollute. It’s all about the money.

We simply have to admit that regulation does not work when used in such a manner that has covert revenue agendas. Other types of regulation such as outlawing prostitution are pointless when all they do is create a tax-free underground industry that leads to exploitation and kidnapping. Making drugs illegal funds crime just as prohibition funded the Mafia. Passing a law against murder does not prevent murder. There are things that are simply inherent within human nature that you cannot make a law and rationally expect it to stop.

There have been crazy people throughout history. Putting in background checks to sell guns is a deterrent, but it will not stop a crazy person from being crazy. If they wanted to kill someone, a knife will suffice. Outlawing gay marriage will not stop the same sex from living together. The whole problem was simply that we imposed all sorts of regulations to marriage such as preventing someone from inheriting property if not married or having permission to be at the bedside of a dying person unless they are family. At the border for taxes, they do not care if you are married. If you travel with someone else, the $10,000 limit applies to the both of you, because if you have $15,000 and give half to the other person they look at you as a couple regardless of sex or marriage status. This all becomes a convoluted regulation that is hell-bent on collecting money, which then disturbs the religious viewpoint of others. Yet, if we detach the regulations to marriage then it really does not matter. It always comes down to money and power.

So what we have to understand is that eliminating career politicians will eliminate much of the corruption. Eliminate the power to regulate pretended circumstances and you eliminate the need to buy government in some shape or manner. It has long been said that God created the Ten Commandments, and man has created 1billion laws trying to say the same thing. Murder is murder, regardless if it is a policeman killing a citizen by shooting them in the back as they are running. The Roman EmperorJulian II (360-363 AD) may have been one of the most honorable men in history. He declared that no one was above the law, including himself. Any law enacted had to apply to everyone including the emperor. They killed him rather quickly and the assassin was never caught